Move over Jack. . .

It's Justin-in-a-box!!

Justin found this box that was leftover from Christmas. He wore it around the house for no less than thirty minutes, showing everyone and exclaiming, "Look at my new house! Look at my new house!" Then he If I would have known, we would have just wrapped up a laundry basket, a box, and a pillow!proceeded to line a laundry basket with a pillow from the living room couch, and climb inside. He ducked down and told me he was "hiding inside his house". He had a blast.

If only we hadn't spent so much money on wii games, legos, cars, and nerf balls. I could have saved a lot of time and money and just wrapped up a laundry basket, a pillow, and a box!

Tagged!!

My cute baby sister Mel, tagged me, so here you go:
Favorite person outside of family: I don't play favorites, that wouldn't be nice.

Guilty Pleasure: Scrapping, blogging, and reading. I am pretty boring, aren't I?

Quirks about me: I can't stand writing with a dull pencil, I hate the sound of Styrofoam, and I am really bothered by slackers.

Any regrets in life: Of course! Most recently--I was too exhausted to make dinner on Tuesday so we had oatmeal for dinner. And just last night I got busy and was 10 minutes late picking my neighbor's daughter up from the park after a soccer game. It was starting to get dark, and she was scared. Someone else drove her home, and she was OK, but I felt sooo bad. Oh yah, I've got regrets.

Favorite Charity/cause: LDS church, because I know that 100% of my money will go to a good cause somewhere in the world.

Favorite Blog recently: Pioneer Woman, I am totally addicted.

Any Confessions: I can't remember the last time I cleaned the blinds in my house and I have science experiments growing in my refrigerator. Oh, and I have a package of Oreo's dipped in mint chocolate hiding in my food storage room. I go down and eat one every few days. (Shhh, please don't tell my family.)

If you had to spend $1,000 on yourself, how would you spend it? Organizational supplies for my scrapping room; it really needs to be over-hauled.

Favorite thing about your house: That I have my own scrapbook/craft room. Thanks honey!

Least favorite thing about your house: It is a never ending money pit of projects that need to be done.

One thing you are good at: cooking

One thing you could change about your circumstances: Most of you know this, but I really, really want a baby girl. We are trying to adopt.

Who would you like to meet someday: Joseph and Emma Smith

Who is your real life hero: my parents

What is the hardest part of your job: Potty training! Lucky for me, we are out of that phase for now.

When are you most relaxed: When I am asleep.

When are you most stressed: Usually the week of soccer/baseball/basketball/football sign-ups. My phone rings off the hook and I'm so worried about balancing all the teams, getting coaches, and addressing all of the last minute problems, that my brain shuts down and I turn into a screaming meanie.

What can you not live without: Besides oxygen, water, and food--people. I have been know to start scrapbooking groups, Bunco groups, Book Clubs, play groups, etc. just so I can get out and be with people. I could never live out in the middle of nowhere with no neighbors. I think I would go crazy.

Why do you blog: See this post.

Who are you tagging: No one, because I am so new to this that all the bloggers I know have already been tagged.

Favorite Bible Verse: So, so hard to choose one favorite. But for right now, I am going to say this one:
Isaiah 54: 7,8,& 10--"For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. . . For the mountains shall depart, and the hill shall be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee"
It is my favorite because of this song. Some of our beautiful young woman sang it on our pioneer trek two years ago and it was one of the most spiritual experiences of my life. I still can't read it without thinking of the song and tearing up a little. Amazing!

C is for Cookie

It was Justin's turn to take treats to preschool on Tuesday. The letter of the day was "C" so we made chocolate chip cookies. In the shape of a C. I know, I know, I could have taken carrots or cucumbers or celery. But come on, chocolate chip cookies, that's a triple "C". How could I pass it up? He was thrilled with the results.

Oh, and if any of you are interested in the recipe, you can find it here.

Fun with Grandma and Grandpa

My mom and dad came down Thursday afternoon to spend a few days with us. We all thoroughly enjoyed it and wish they would do it more often.

Thursday night we went to Brandon's band concert. He has been playing the French Horn for three years and has gotten quite good at it. The concert was amazing!

Friday night the boys had a piano recital. They sure complain about all the practicing, but all of them did a wonderful job!

In between all the running, we got a lot of baking done. It was so much fun to spend time with my mom. (And thanks dad for entertaining the boys so we could have some time alone.)
We decorated gingerbread cookies with the boys. They made a family complete with grandma and grandpa and the baby sister we are hoping to adopt. I am the cookie in the middle with the head falling off. I don't think Tyler was actually trying to make a political statement about how mom is always "running around like a chicken with it's head cut off", it was just an accident. I think. That kid is pretty smart. I wouldn't put it past him.

Mom and I also make goodies for her take to a wedding, and some for neighbors.

We made orange dream cookies:

Peanut butter fudge:
Chocolate chip pecan caramels:

And maple chip cookies.

It was sugar heaven at our house! Luckily for my hips, we gave most of the treats away. If you would like the recipes for any of them, I will be posting them on my blog. Just click this link:
Kara's Kitchen Creations

Thanks mom and dad for a wonderful weekend!! We can't wait to see you for Christmas!

Sleeping Under the Tree

This is one of the boys' favorite traditions. The day we decorate the tree, we let them sleep under it. Usually this is the Friday after Thanksgiving, but we were in Oregon this year, so they had to wait a whole entire week. We don't do it on a school night because we don't want the two younger boys waking up at 5:30 when Brandon and Spencer get up to play basketball. (Yes, I know, they are crazy, 5:30 is way too early to be getting out of bed. I agree with you.)

Justin took us a little too literally on the whole "under the tree" thing. He actually started with his entire pillow and blanket under the tree branches. I could just imagine him waking up in the middle of the night, hitting his face on the scratchy branches, freaking out, and tipping the tree over on his brothers. That might have made for a memorable Christmas, but I don't enjoy making that kind of memory. Can you imagine explaining to an ER doctor how all four of your boys ended up with facial lacerations and shards of broken Christmas tree lights stuck in their hair? Not a pretty picture.

Needless to say, we explained to Justin that "under" actually means "near" in this case. He was satisfied and everyone had a restful and abrasion-free night's sleep. Who knows, we might even let them do it again this weekend.

Ward Christmas Party 2008

For our ward Christmas party on Saturday, the primary children did a nativity. Spencer was Joseph. He was a little reluctant, but he agreed to do it. Don't tell him I said this, but he actually enjoyed himself. Even though he had to hold hands with a girl. She's darn cute, but luckily she's only Tyler's age so it wasn't a big deal. He did a great job and I was proud of him.

The program was amazing and we could really feel the spirit. Tyler was a shepherd, but I couldn't see him from where I was sitting, so I didn't get a picture. I was bummed about that because he looked really cute.

My friend and visiting teaching partner Lila painted the backdrop. It was absolutely stunning!

After the dinner and program, we had a visit from Santa. The kids all love it every year and it is fun to see the excitement on their faces.
Justin was so excited the whole time we waited in line. So excited in fact that when Santa asked what he wanted he couldn't remember. He was just happy to be there.

Tyler thought that Santa was pretty funny asking him if he wanted a doll.

Spencer is much too old for toys now, so he asked Santa for a football.

Brandon hasn't sat on Santa's lap for over three years I think. He is thirteen after all and way too cool for that. But his friend Chandler was in line ahead of us so we talked them into it. He was a good sport.

It was a really fun Christmas party! And Wes and I were not in charge of anything. I don't think that has ever happened before!

A Birthday and a trip to Oregon

Today is my cute baby sister's birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY MEL!!! I wish you lived closer so I could have taken you out to lunch today. It would have been fun and I really could have used a break today! Can't wait to see you for Christmas!

Moving on. . . We had a fun but hectic trip to Oregon over Thanksgiving. We came home to a messy house, empty fridge, and no clean clothes, so I have spent the last two days trying to clean, cook and wash clothes. I just put the 13th load in the dryer and I am close, but still not finished. Who knew four boys could generate so much laundry when they have to be reminded to change socks on a daily basis. I think that half of the clothes I washed hadn't been worn, but they smelled less than fresh, so I had to wash them anyway! Grrrr.

Anyway, here is a re-cap of our trip.

We arrived on Wednesday night, spent some time visiting and relaxing, then ran to the store for a few groceries.

Thursday we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner. I didn't take any pictures because I was too busy stuffing myself. That afternoon the kids all made graham cracker gingerbread houses. They absolutely love this activity and look forward to it every time. It is fun to watch them and see the different personalities. Some kids make beautiful, thought out, symmetrical houses with colorful patterns and shapes. Others just pile on as much candy as they can before the poor little crackers collapse under the weight. In case any of you are wondering, all 4 of my boys tend to lean towards the "pile on the candy" approach.

Friday the cousins played, the adults visited, and we all went to the movie "Madagascar 2".

Tyler and his cousin Chance had a great time playing chess with Kaden's chess set.

Justin and Mac spent almost an hour raking the leaves in grandma and grandpa's yard. They had a blast!

Saturday the girls spent all day planning the 50th Wedding Anniversary Party for Wes's parents. We aren't sure what the men did, but we're pretty sure it involved a lot of sitting on tushes and watching electronic devices of one type of another.

We did a 50's theme and I think it turned out really nice. We decorated in pink, white, and black with lots of old records. My brother-in-law Casey Deejayed the dance and made an awesome slide show that he has promised to send us a copy of. The rest of the men served ice cream at our make shift ice cream parlor. They all wore matching vests. It was the hit of the party. All of the guests came through and ordered ice cream sundaes. Thanks to my sister in law Patsy, they had about 20 toppings to choose from. It was an ice cream lover's heaven I tell you!

Don't they look cute handsome?

This is my great in-laws, who have been married for 50 years, sharing a dance together. We love you mom and dad!!